I’m rising this morning to talk about a subject that’s on our minds a lot in this House, and that is mental health, particularly youth mental health.

Speaker, I had occasion, recently, to meet with a bunch of parents who are very concerned with the mental health of their children in high school. We’ve just lived through a difficult two and a half years of folks having to learn on their own. What I’m hearing from parents and what I’m hearing from high school students is that many don’t feel a sense of belonging; many are feeling they’re in a difficult place. And I don’t want to trivialize that. I don’t want to tell people that things are going to be better overnight. But what I do want to tell people is that in Ottawa, we have community services to help people with their mental health.

Next Friday, on May 26, at 4 p.m., at 464 Metcalfe Street, we’re going to be bringing together community providers who will give youth opportunities to volunteer, opportunities to plug into services, to feel like they belong.

So I invite you: If you want to plug into your community more, if you want to make your community a better place—or if you already are—join me and other community mental health advocates to find out about who you can meet, where you can belong, because you are loved for who you are. We need to make our province a better place, and we’re having an argument about that in this building. But on the way there, the services that our grandparents fought for—you deserve a right to access them, to make our festivals great, to make our athletics great, to make our arts community great.

Youth, we need your help, so join me on May 26. I can’t wait to see you.

I rise today to recognize May as Asthma Awareness Month and to celebrate the anniversary of Ryan’s Law.

Speaker, eight years ago, my predecessor for Elgin–Middlesex–London, Jeff Yurek, introduced Ryan’s Law as a private member’s bill in this Legislature. This legislation was introduced because of a horrific incident that occurred in my riding on October 9, 2012. Ryan Gibbons passed away while at school after suffering a severe asthma attack. Ryan was unable to access his inhaler due to school policies and procedures which kept his inhaler locked in the principal’s office. Ryan’s Law mandated that students were allowed to access their inhalers and that schools were required to develop and maintain asthma policies and procedures to better protect asthmatic students.

Approximately one in five children are living with asthma in Canada. Asthma is a chronic lung disease that can make breathing difficult. That means that approximately 400,000 students with asthma in Ontario schools are now protected by Ryan’s Law.

I want to thank patient advocates such as Sandra Gibbons, Ryan’s mother, who played an instrumental role in advocating for Ryan’s Law, as well as the Lung Health Foundation for their advocacy, programming and services. We had an excellent meeting earlier this week, and I appreciate their strong advocacy.

Mr. Speaker, Orléans lost an important community leader earlier this month. On May 1, after a long battle with cancer and surrounded by family, local legend Al Tweddle passed away.

Al was a chemist, an engineer, a sportsman, a musician, a conservationist and, above all, a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Al was a community leader and a trailblazer in Orléans for decades.

Since the 1960s, Al and his previously deceased wife, Helen, were pillars in the Queenswood Heights neighbourhood of Orléans. This is the neighbourhood I grew up in, and while I didn’t know Al back then, I knew who he was. He was the man who maintained the outdoor rinks and who helped run the community centre. He was the man who took care of the tennis courts and so much more. In fact, Al took care of outdoor rinks in Orléans for over 50 years.

I got to know Al when I joined the community association and later served as president. He was a constant fixture and an important sounding board for new ideas.

Al had a great passion for nature and the outdoors. He was instrumental in developing Petrie Island into a beautiful park and ecological reserve, as the founder of Friends of Petrie Island. At Friends of Petrie Island, he spent countless hours maintaining the trails, planting trees, cleaning the beach, and educating visitors about the wildlife and history of the island.

He touched the lives of many people with his generosity, kindness and dedication.

While he is gone, his legacy will not be forgotten.

Rest in peace, Al. You will be missed by everyone in Queenswood Heights and right across Orléans.

Ontario is home to over 500,000 people of Dutch heritage, and I’m proud to represent a large Dutch community in Flamborough–Glanbrook.

As we honour Dutch heritage throughout the month of May, I would like to celebrate one of the many businesses in my riding that was started by Dutch Canadian entrepreneurs. William Dam Seeds, located in West Flamborough, was started by William and Maria Dam, who immigrated to Canada in 1947. The couple met while working at a seed company in Holland, and they married in 1938. During World War II, William was involved in the resistance, helping to hide fugitives and transport weapons to push back against the occupation.

When William and Maria arrived in Canada, many immigrants were unable to find the vegetable seeds that they had grown back home in Europe. To fill this need, the couple started their own seed business at their kitchen table in Sarnia, and they eventually settled in Flamborough in 1959. For over 70 years now, this family business has provided Canadian farmers and gardeners with high-quality seeds for vegetables, herbs and flowers.

Throughout this Dutch Heritage Month, I encourage all Ontarians to visit a local Dutch Canadian business and to learn about the long history and values of liberty and democracy that our two nations share.

Today I am recognizing Ms. Melania Smith, a commercial landowner and a resident of Scarborough Centre, who is sitting in the gallery with her husband, Steve Smith.

Melania has been nominated for the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards, in the category of social change and national impact.

In addition, Ms. Smith converted her unused parcel of land into a thriving community garden after observing signs of local food insecurity. This pesticide-free produce goes to the Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities food bank.

In addition, she works with an international organization serving remote and rural parts of India, where they serve up a midday nutritional meal program that feeds thousands of students and their families, donate school supplies, and mentor women to become more confident, self-sufficient and supportive of their family and neighbours.

Congratulations, Melania, for the work you have been doing at home and abroad.

I rise today with a heavy heart and heart-wrenching memories of innocent Tamils who perished during the last stages of the brutal war in Mullivaikkal in Vanni region in May 2009. This is an emotional moment for me and over 350,000 Tamil Ontarians. Today marks the 14th year of Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day. Heinous crimes committed by the chauvinist regime against the Tamil nation and hundreds of thousands of innocent lives taken away, including children and women, remain unpunished today. There is no truth. There is no reconciliation.

I am proud of our Premier and our government for passing Bill 104. Tamils can begin healing and can encourage Ontarians to learn about Tamil genocide.

We acknowledge the gravity of these crimes against humanity, honour the lives lost, and commit ourselves to raising awareness and passing the history to the next generation.

Today, I pay my deepest respects to those who have lost their lives. We understand the trauma and share the pain and suffering of those who have lost their loved ones.

Speaker, my constituents Deo Marshall and Adrianna reached out to my office to share the financial struggles that they are facing due to decisions made by their building’s condo board. Recently, they discovered that their condo board has accumulated $100,000 in fees, primarily due to an eviction—$70,000—and underpaid gas bills. The management of the condo board has requested all residents to pay approximately $700 by June 15 to cover these costs. Deo and Adrianna have been informed that their failure to meet this deadline could result in collections, which would have a detrimental impact on their credit scores. They are being penalized for the condo board’s incompetence and wrongdoing. These are seniors on fixed incomes who are now burdened with an unexpected financial obligation, with no offer of an alternative payment plan.

Speaker, this is not the first time we’re hearing such a story where condo residents are suffering due to the lack of legal protection and support for them. We have heard stories where condo residents have been forced to pay over $30,000 in mere days or face a lien on their property. Condo residents in Ontario are frustrated as there’s no effective regulator, no government agency and no tribunal they can turn to that can hear disputes such as this and resolve them in a quick and affordable manner.

This government must regulate and strengthen the Condominium Authority Tribunal’s jurisdiction to protect the rights of all residents—especially residents like Deo Marshall and Adrianna.

We have a UK delegation with us today, from the British Parliament: Lord Purvis of Tweed; Anum Qaisar, MP; Stephen Doughty, MP; Andrew Percy, MP; and Chris Brown, the UK delegation secretary.

I’d like to introduce the sensational Sive Pausey from the Métis National Council. She’s also a constituent of beautiful Beaches–East York. She’s in the chamber today for the first time.

I also have the wonderful William Peat and the bubbly Beatriz Lôbo Campos from the Canada Ireland Foundation. They are working to build an Irish immigration event space museum on the waterfront.

And all of them are working tirelessly to build a better Ontario.

Welcome to our chamber.

I’d to introduce to the Legislative Assembly Geoff Quirt, who was at one time an assistant deputy minister of long-term care and the Ontario Seniors’ Secretariat.

Geoff, thank you for your service to the province.

That concludes our members’ statements for this morning.

Joining us in the Speaker’s gallery is the delegation from Quebec. La délégation québécoise est avec nous aujourd’hui dans la tribune du Président :

—M^me Nathalie Roy, Présidente de l’Assemblée nationale du Québec;

—M^me Suzanne Tremblay, députée de Hull;

—M^me Marie-Belle Gendron, députée de Châteauguay;

—M^me Brigitte B. Garceau, députée de Robert-Baldwin; et

—M. Siegfried Peters, secrétaire général de l’Assemblée nationale du Québec.

Please join me in warmly welcoming our guests to the Legislature today.

Applause.

I would like to acknowledge page Liam Gunning, from my community of Newmarket–Aurora, who is serving as page captain today. Also joining us are Liam’s mom, Jen Gunning, and his little sister Isla Gunning, as well as his grandfather Geoff Quirt, who is a retired member of the OPS.

Liam, thank you for your service.

I’d like to introduce a number of visitors to the chamber this morning.

First, I’d like to introduce Michau Van Speyk, an important autism and mental health advocate.

I’d like to introduce Rameez and Sana Mufti, who are the siblings of my outstanding OLIP intern, Alia Mufti.

Finally, I would like to introduce the following people from the community of Chesley and the Ontario Health Coalition: Brenda Scott, Ian Scott, Hazel Pratt, Jennifer Shaw, Faye Bell McClure, Sharon Burley, Doug Walsh, Audrey Walsh, Isobel Bell, and Natalie Mehra.

Welcome to the chamber.

It’s an honour to introduce the people of Garden River First Nation, who are here at Queen’s Park with their chief, council and elders. Please welcome Chief Andy Rickard, Darwin Belleau, Cindy Belleau-Jones, Brandi Nolan, Trevor Solomon, Chris Thibodeau, Dan Tice, Albert Williams, Terry Belleau, Nevaeh Pine, and Darrell Boissoneau.

I’d also like to recognize, from the Anishinabek Nation, regional Deputy Grand Council Chief Travis Boissoneau as well as the CAO of Garden River, Jauvonne Kitto.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

From Faith Baptist Church in Huntsville in the great riding of Parry Sound–Muskoka, we have Associate Pastor Harry Toews. And from the outreach team and church family at large, joining him are: Rodger Flemming, Bill Frankland, Doug Graves, Andrew Hall, Carolann Page, Bob Switzer, Mary Switzer, Rosemary Toews, and Mike Zammit.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Meegwetch, Speaker. Remarks in Anishininiimowin. This morning—it’s a good morning—I’m going to speak a little bit of my language, our Creator-given language.

Remarks in Anishininiimowin.

I say thank you to the community of Garden River First Nation, the Ojibways. It’s not every day that we get to speak our language in this place. This morning, I was gifted with this eagle feather, and then for me to speak a little bit of my language in this place—meegwetch.

This morning I’d like to introduce my daughter, Kathryn Pierre, who is here in the members’ gallery joining us from Vancouver.

I would like to introduce a group of residents from Chesley: Faye Bell McClure, Brenda Scott, Ian Scott, Hazel Pratt, Jennifer Shaw, and Isobel Bell, as well as the CEO of the Ontario Health Coalition, Natalie Mehra.

Welcome to your House.

I have another group to introduce—and it is our powerful page Lazo Kasekas. His family is here today in the chamber: Kate, Konst, Vanna, and Eleanor Kasekas.

Welcome.